SAINT LEO, Fla. – It took an extra five minutes to decide the winner between Saint Leo and Tampa in a Sunshine State Conference (SSC) men's basketball showdown Saturday evening inside the Marion Bowman Activities Center. The Lions prevailed 69-65 in the overtime thriller to move to 7-4, 2-2 SSC.

In the win, Kyran McClure joined an elite club scoring 1,000 career points, becoming the 24th player in program history to surpass the 1,000 plateau standing at 1,005 in his four-year collegiate career with 1,001 at Saint Leo.
 
It was Yalen Reed who came up big, posting a monstrous double-double with 20 points and 16 rebounds, where his rebounds are a new personal best in the Green and Gold. Reed finished the night on 7-of-9 shooting including a 3-for-5 night from downtown and a 3-for-4 mark from the charity stripe. Out of his 16 rebounds, 13 came on the defensive half. The Nashville, Tenn. native recorded one block on the night, which came in the overtime period with just nine seconds remaining.
 
"It was a grinder," Head Coach Lance Randall commented after the overtime win. "We got great minutes from Yalen, and especially loved his rebounding but his block at the end was the cherry on top. He made some perimeter shots, but he finished great around the rim."
 
Randall continued, "We hit a stretch in the last seven minutes where we didn't execute very well, we struggled and forced some stuff. Tampa is a great half-court defensive team. We forced some stuff against them and had some empty possessions. Then we put a kid on the line that didn't make a three all day and then he drills that three to tie the game."
 
"I really appreciate our resiliency in overtime, going down two possessions and come back and take the lead, and got some stops," Randall added.
 
Kyran McClure, who was out all week from practice, played 40 minutes and scored 24 points to pace the Green and Gold going 5-for-14 from the field, which all five buckets were from beyond the arc going 5-for-10. McClure added a 9-for-9 night from the free-throw line.
 
"Kyran didn't practice all week, said he was good to go, got it verified today and he had a good second half and had a monster overtime."
 
Rusty Moorer, who got the nod in the starting lineup, nearly posted a triple-double with seven points, eight rebounds, and eight assists.
 
Tampa (2-8, 0-4 SSC) saw Derrick Felder lead all scorers with 25 points where Martin Lakovic added 13 points. Both Felder and Lakovic added 10 and 14 rebounds, respectively, to cap off their double-doubles. Pat Bacon chipped in 13 points for the Spartans.
 
In the first half, the contest was played tight with 11 lead changes and six ties with the Spartans holding the largest lead of six points with 8:53 on the clock. Saint Leo held a five-point spread with 1:11 to go and went into the locker room up by five, 34-29.
 
Saint Leo came out of the break and controlled the pace of the contest extending their lead to 10 points, 48-38 with 14:39 to go. The Spartans would use a 7-0 run to close the gap late in the second half, 52-50, with 5:35 on the clock. Saint Leo would continue to hold the lead heading into the final minute of action before a three by Jacob Harris, who was 0-for-8 from downtown, sank a three to tie things at 0:36. The Lions closed regulation with a missed shot and nearly a turnover to send the game into the overtime period.
 
Tampa opened the free period on a 6-2 lead to gain a four-point advantage. Kyran McClure would catch fire knocking down back-to-back threes to push the Green and Gold ahead 64-62 with 1:11 to go. McClure would drain two free throws with 27-ticks left to keep the Lions ahead 66-64 with just 27-second left. Rusty Moorer would go 2-for-2 from the line with seven seconds to go before Tampa went 1-for-2 to attempt a rebound trailing 68-65. Reed hauled in the rebound and went 1-for-2 on the ensuing free throw shots, where the Lions ended the game up 69-65.
 
Beyond the Boxscore

• Kyran McClure becomes the 24th player to eclipse the 1,000 plateau. He stands at 1,005 in his four-year intercollegiate playing career, but 1,001 at Saint Leo.
• The battle between the top two defensive teams in the SSC went to the Lions, 69-65.
• Saint Leo moves to 5-1 in the last six meetings, erasing the last loss from a year ago and flipping the home-away win-loss issue with the road team winning.

 
Up Next
Saint Leo remains at home and closes out the non-conference portion of its schedule on Dec. 20^th at 5:30 p.m. against Walsh University on center court in the Marion Bowman Activities Center.
 
For the latest news, updates, and information on the Saint Leo men's basketball, be sure to visit SaintLeoLions.com. Fans can also stay up-to-date on the latest Lions news by following Saint Leo Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. Don't miss out on the 2019-20 Basketball Pride Pass, now on sale. The Saint Leo Basketball Pride Pass gives each fan admission to all home men's and women's basketball events. For more information visit here.